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REACH Parent Research Program

The REACH Parent research program currently seeks Parents who are providing care for or supporting their injured adult child Service Member or Veteran who served in Post 9/11 conflicts. Injuries may be physical or cognitive including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). REACH Parent is a national, voluntary, randomized clinical trial funded by the Department of Defense and facilitated by the Caregiver Support Center of the Memphis VA Medical Center. The goal of REACH Parent is to determine effective strategies for providing education, skills building, and support for stressed and burdened Parent Caregivers of injured returning Service Members and Veterans. Demographics indicate that 53% of service members returning from deployment are under the age of 25. Unmarried, injured personnel are highly likely to be provided at-home recovery care by a Parent.

Participation and personal data collected will be confidential. The Caregiver will commit to participate over a 6 month period. Participation involves 6 educational sessions scheduled at the parent’s convenience. In addition to these sessions, the participant will be interviewed at the time of trial entry, again at 3 months, and again at 6 months. Parents will be compensated for their time spent completing the interviews and will receive a possible total of $100 over the 6 month period.

If you are a Parent Caregiver for your injured adult child and want to learn more or find out if you qualify for this program:

Will I be financially compensated? You will be compensated $25 for each research interview you complete regardless of whether or not you complete the study. If you complete the three study interviews as well as a short program evaluation, you will be compensated with an additional $25 at the final interview for a possible total of $100.

What are the benefits of participating in the study?You will learn about your adult child’s diagnoses and the impact on him or her. You may learn practical skills to accommodate your adult child’s injury/injuries. You will learn best practices for navigating the Veteran Affairs systems of care. You may learn problem solving and communication skills. You may learn stress and emotion management skills. You may have the opportunity to share your caregiving experiences and opinions which may help other Parent Caregivers in the future.

How will my and my adult child’s privacy be protected?No personal or medical information will be released to anyone outside of the study staff, the study sponsor, the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command (USAMRMC), and the Memphis VAMC Institutional Review Board (IRB), Research Compliance Officers (RCO), and the Department of Defense’s Human Research Protection Office (HRPO) that will monitor this study as part of the study process, unless abuse, neglect, or exploitation are reported, and intervention is necessary. All study responses will be recorded anonymously. The USAMRMC will have access to the study data to monitor and oversee the conduct of the study in the event of a for-cause audit of research records.

How long do the educational sessions last?The length of the education session is contingent upon which group you are assigned. Each session will be approximately 30 minutes minimum and 60 minutes maximum. HOWEVER, you schedule the sessions according to your convenience.

What will I do if I enroll?During this 6-month research study you will be assigned by chance to one of two groups. One group will participate in 6 individual REACH (Resources for Enhancing All Caregivers Health) sessions for 3 months, receiving stress reduction and coping skills (mood management, communication, problem solving). The second group will participate in 6 online educational webinar sessions covering topics such as problem behaviors, caregiver health, caregiver emotional well-being, safety, and social support for 3 months.